Professor Robert Furbank Bob is Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Translational Photosynthesis at ANU, having previously been Director of the High Resolution Plant Phenomics Centre at CSIRO from 2009 until 2014. Bob’s research is focused on improving photosynthesis and carbon partitioning traits in crop plants for increased yield. He works on both C3 and C4 photosynthesis and spans approaches from the molecular regulation of transcription to phenomics in the field. He is passionate about developing translational links between basic plant biology and agricultural outcomes.
Professor Susanne von Caemmerer Susanne is Professor of Molecular Plant Physiology at ANU. Her research is in CO2 fixation including the biochemistry of C3 and C4 photosynthesis and the regulation of CO2 diffusion in leaves. She has worked across scales in biochemistry, molecular biology & plant physiology, combining mathematical modelling with experimental verification. She was part of a team that presented a mathematical model of C3 photosynthesis, which is now used worldwide. She is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, The Royal Society of London and the German Academy of Scientists.
Dr Caitlin Byrt Caitlin is a principal investigator in plant biology at ANU and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. Her research is currently focused on investigating the physiological roles of specific subsets of a type of membrane intrinsic protein in plants called aquaporins, which influence water, salt and nutrient transport. Her previous research led to the identification and characterization of mechanisms in plants that contribute to environmental stress tolerance, such as mechanisms linked to salinity tolerance in cereals.
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Dr Maria Ermakova Maria is a postdoc in Susanne von Caemmerer’s and Robert Furbank’s groups. She obtained her PhD in biochemistry in University of Turku working in Eva-Mari Aro’s lab. Her research is focusing on photosynthetic electron transport reactions in C4 plants and ways to improve crop yield by manipulating thylakoid proteins.
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Dr Florence Danila Flor is a postdoc in Susanne von Caemmerer’s and Robert Furbank’s group. She obtained her PhD at the Australian National University under the supervision of Susanne von Caemmerer, Bob Furbank, Paul Quick and Rosemary White. Flor’s research is focused on leaf symplastic transport and its importance for improved photosynthesis.
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Dr Samantha McGaughey Sam is a postdoc in Caitlin Byrt and Robert Furbank’s groups. She completed her PhD at the University of Adelaide under the supervision of Caitlin Byrt and Steve Tyerman. Sam’s research is focused on membrane transport processes and the characterisation of plant protein function.
Dr Kavya Yalamanchili Kavya is a postdoc in Robert Furbank’s group. She did her PhD in plant developmental biology at Wageningen University & Research under the supervision of Ben Scheres, Viola Willemsen and Joop Vermeer. Kavya’s research focuses on installing key genes controlling biochemical, metabolite transport and anatomical specialisation of C4 pathway in rice to improve photosynthesis.
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